Multi-disciplinary design optimization with variable complexity modeling for a stratosphere airship

This paper proposes a hybrid architecture based on Multi-disciplinary Design Optimization (MDO)with the Variable Complexity Modeling (VCM)method, to solve the problem of general design optimization for a stratosphere airship. Firstly, MDO based on the Concurrent SubSpace Optimization (CSSO)strategy is improved for handling the subsystem coupling problem in stratosphere airship design which contains aerodynamics, structure, and energy. Secondly, the VCM method based on the surrogate model is presented for reducing the computational complexity in high-fidelity modeling without loss of accuracy. Moreover, the global-to-local optimization strategy is added to the architecture to enhance the process. Finally, the result gives a prominent stratosphere airship general solution that validates the feasibility and efficiency of the optimization architecture. Besides, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to outline the critical impact upon stratosphere airship design.